The former President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, recently landed in Kyiv to face the charges of treason in a case he stated was trumped up. The conspirators behind the trumped-up charges, he claims, were the allies of his successor, President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a brief stand-off at the border control after arriving on a flight straight from Warsaw, Poroshenko accused the border guards of taking away his passport. He then emerged out of a crowd of thousands of his cheering and flag-waving supporters that had waited for him outside the airport.
Petro Poroshenko Could be In For 15 Years If Convicted of Treason
The return of Petro Poroshenko does set up quite a showdown with the government of President Zelensky in what most critics have called an ill-judged distraction as the country has been bracing for a possible Russian military offensive and seeks the support of most of its Western allies. The diplomats from the Western front had already called for political unity in the country before the former President arrived in the country, who was the President from 2014 to 2019.
Petro Poroshenko is currently being investigated for alleged treason which has been linked to the financing of separatist fighters who have the backing of Russia through illegal coal sales in 2014-15. He could definitely face up to 15 years in prison if he was convicted of the charges. His party, on the other hand, has accused the current President of a reckless attempt to silence the political opposition that has been growing in the parliament.
The administration of the current President has maintained that the judiciary and the prosecutors are completely independent and has accused Poroshenko of thinking he is above the statutes of law.